Welfare Reform on the Web (December 2005): Social Security - UK - New Deal

Are employment zones successful? Evidence from the first four years

O. Bruttel

Local Economy, vol.20, 2005, p.389-403

Under the Employment Zones initiative, long term unemployed people in 13 pilot areas have been receiving employment reintegration services from private providers since 2000. Quantitative evidence shows that these private providers have been achieving a significantly higher rate of reintegration of jobseekers into employment than Jobcentre Plus. This may be due to the fact that private case managers enjoy a flexibility that allows them to develop individually tailored solutions for jobseekers with severe employment barriers. However, neither Jobcentre Plus nor the private providers are able to reach the most marginalised jobseekers, due to limited scope for long term help and support.